800€ upgradable NAS

[Zoker]

Hi guys,

 

I want to built a NAS within the next 2-3 month.

Here is my current config:

• Case: Fractal Design Node 804
• Mainboard: ASRock B360M Pro4
• CPU: Intel Pentium Gold G5500T
• CPU cooler: be quiet! Pure Rock Slim
• RAM: G.Skill NT Series DIMM 8GB, DDR4-2400, CL15-15-15-35 
• HDD: 3x Western Digital WD Red 4TB WD40EFRX (I already own two of them)
• Cache: 2x Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500GB
• OS: unRaid on a 32GB SanDisk Ultra 3.0
• Power: be quiet! Straight Power 11 450W
• Fans: 
  • 5x be quiet! Pure Wings 2, 120mm
  • 1x be quiet! Pure Wings 2, 140mm

 

The CPU has the advantage, that I can upgrade it up to an i7 if necessary in the future and the RAM can be upgraded to 64GB.
The case holds max 10 disks and the mainboard supports 6 SATA by default, which can be extended by an PCIe card.
The motherboard should also be capable of VT-d (mentioned in the user manual) and VT-x (mentioned as "Intel Virtualization Technology" in the manual and according to the FAQ, this means VT-x: https://www.asrock.com/support/faq.asp?id=405).

 

So I should be able to passthrough hardware and use VMs if needed.
I want to replace the stock case fans for a overall cooler and quieter system.

 

And now my questions:

• What do you think about the hardware config? Is there anything that does not fit? Or anything better I can get for the same price?
• Am I in anyway limited with my choice (except for the overall performance, that can be upgraded later on)?
• What about the energy efficiency of the system? Do you think it comes anywhere near to a Synology DS918+? (I took the G5500T model for that purpose)
• In the unRaid docs is mentioned, that using a cache pool also expands the size of the cache. How huge is the cache, when I use 2x 500GB SSDs?

 

Thank you in advance!

[trurl]

6 hours ago, Zoker said:

In the unRaid docs is mentioned, that using a cache pool also expands the size of the cache. How huge is the cache, when I use 2x 500GB SSDs?

There are multiple ways to configure a cache pool. Default is a mirror so it would still be 500GB but would have redundancy. See the cache pool entries in the Unraid FAQ:

 

https://forums.unraid.net/topic/46802-faq-for-unraid-v6/?page=2&tab=comments#comment-554741

 

In particular, this:

 

https://forums.unraid.net/topic/46802-faq-for-unraid-v6/#comment-480421

 

 

[JonathanM]

2 hours ago, Zoker said:

What about the energy efficiency of the system? Do you think it comes anywhere near to a Synology DS918+? (I took the G5500T model for that purpose)

I can't speak to the overall wattage of the system, but choosing a specific cpu for power numbers is likely a mistake. All cpu's manufactured on the same die type tend to have similar if not identical normal load draw. The low power models artificially limit the performance to ensure the peak draw over time doesn't exceed design specifications, so that a limited heat sink system like you would find in a laptop or other tiny pc isn't overheated.

 

Saying it another way, if you have two otherwise identical systems with the only difference being the cpu is a low power model, if you give both systems the same task that only loads the cpu, like transcoding a small video file that fits totally in RAM, both systems will consume the same power overall but the low power cpu will take longer to do it to keep the peak heat load down.

 

Now, extending that scenario, lets say you have a 50GB blu ray rip that you need to transcode, and it will keep the array spun up the entire time. The low power cpu will take longer to do the same job, keeping the hard drives up and drawing power the entire time, net effect is that the low power cpu actually draws MORE total power for the same work done.

 

The only way to lower energy usage with a cpu is to move to a different architecture, like the difference between sandy bridge and kaby lake. Every time they redesign processors, they have tended to lower power consumption per unit of work done.

 

Nowadays, the cpu itself is a pretty small part of the energy used by a typical unraid server. The chipset, drive controllers and drives are much more power hungry.

[Zoker]

Alright, thank you for the detailed explanation! Very good points

 

Would it be worth upgrading to a Intel Core i3-8100T, 4x 3.10GHz with 4 cores or stick with a Intel Pentium Gold G5600, 2x 3.90GHz?

Edited September 25, 2018 by Zoker